Harry Sotaro Kawabe was born on June 10, 1890, in a small rural village near Osaka, Japan but immigrated to the United States and then lived in Seattle. He worked as a houseboy in Seattle. Kawabe wanted to be successful so he tried gold mining. He wanted to find a lot of gold to become rich. When he didn’t find gold, he didn’t give up. Instead of it bringing him down it motivated him to work harder which led him to start his laundry business in Alaska. Kawabe didn’t just do laundry, he also put his money into the Bank of Seward and the Seward Hardware Company that made him a big property owner in town. Since he was a good person to others and showed genuine care, people in Seward really respected him because he was a hardworking and caring business person. His wife and he also raised and helped educate a lot of children in Seward which was another reason why people liked him. Harry’s story shows that by putting your part in anything you want to achieve it is possible and can become a huge part of your life. Since he was able to succeed he gave back to his community by helping others who needed support. In 1953, after the McCarran-Walter Act removed restrictions that had barred Asian immigrants from naturalization since 1924, Harry was allowed to obtain U.S. citizenship. In 1978, the Kawabe Scholarship, given to Seward High School students, was created in his honor. Harry died in November 1969
Harry Sotaro Kawabe
Dhalia Arriaga is a junior in Hoover High. She enjoys writing, and by writing she expresses herself and all the emotions that go on in her head. To Dhalia writing isn’t just words written but it’s words that have a story to it. It has a deeper meaning to her that's why she enjoys writing so much. It brings her peace and comfort. Dhalia’s main goal is to make her parents proud. She wants to make her parents proud because she knows that her parents sacrificed so much for her and her sisters. The thought of her parents going to another country and leaving everything behind to give their kids a better life didn't sit right with her. So she wants to show them that she appreciates everything they’ve done by graduating and proving to them that anything is possible when you set your mind to it. Every tear and feeling of exhaustion will end up being worth it once she graduates and is able to say that she made it through those tough high school years. No matter how hard this journey might get she will always try to keep a positive mindset because at times it gets real and the feeling of giving up gets to her but then again she thinks about her immigrant parents who came here with nothing and have given her everything. Dhalia wants to be able to give them so much back for all the love and support she has received. As you can tell Dhalia is very attached to her family. Family means everything to her and enjoys every second she gets with them.